Action words “A French research team found that action words (kicked, stomped, raced) fire up the motor cortex, which governs how the body moves. Even more specific, describing body parts, such as an arm or a leg, activates the part of the brain that controls arm and leg movement. Using evocative language also wakes up a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which activates long-term memories and plays a significant role in how a reader’s mind turns language into a meaningful experience.” Writer’s Digest, Sept. 2016 And that’s why it’s important to use strong verbs. Make a list of strong verbs and action words. Keep your list handy. Use it like a thesaurus when you are stumbling for that strong verb that’s on the tip of your tongue, within your grasp, but not quite accessible. Or, use a thesaurus. To learn more about using strong words to convey emotion, action and…
Tag: just write
Practical jokes . . . Prompt #314
Write about a practical joke you pulled off, or a practical joke that was played on you. “A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion or discomfort.” Wikipedia
It was fun . . . Prompt #313
Today’s writing prompt: It was fun, until it wasn’t.
Use emotions in your writing.
“Readers covet an emotional experience above all else. When you write scenes, use all the methods you can to help your readers feel the emotions you want them to have—sadness, anger, confusion, mistrust, love, lust, envy, greed and so on. If you want readers to hate your character, show him being despicable to someone who doesn’t deserve his wrath or to someone he supposedly loves. The more you draw readers in to the emotional experience, the more they will engage, and the more likely they’ll want to read your next book.” Excerpted from the September 2016 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine There are over 300 prompts on The Write Spot Blog. Choose one and practice incorporating emotions in your writing. For example: Physical gestures can reveal emotions . . . Prompt # 211 Just write!
Let Go And Create
Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray writes about how surrender can help creativity: We can’t force creativity. We know this intuitively. If we told a painter that we wanted a masterpiece by five o’clock tomorrow, he or she would look at us like we were crazy, that we clearly didn’t understand what being creative was all about. An important part of being creative is learning to surrender to the flow of the universe, allowing something greater than our everyday self to move through us. It’s not something we can figure out with our linear mind. Of course, if we want to paint we need to learn how to work with our chosen medium and studying the work of the masters can help. If we want to write it’s really valuable to read widely and deeply, to show up daily to put pen to paper and perhaps take a workshop on form we…
What is it you really want? Prompt #312
What is it that you really want? Write whatever comes up for you. Could be serious, playful, wishful, fun. Just write!
House Image… Prompt #311
Think of a house or an apartment you lived in – either where you grew up or one that comes to you most strongly: a place that seems most pertinent or the place you want to discover more about. Use a pen or pencil and draw a blueprint of the house or apartment. Sketch the floor plan, include doors (front, back, side), stairs, and each room within the house. Let your hand and mind be the guides. Don’t worry about getting it exactly correct. Use color to explore When you feel done with the blueprint, use color to explore the house/apartment and your feelings. Color the rooms, or outline the rooms, using the actual or basic color of the walls, the rugs and furniture. When you feel done with coloring, write whatever comes up. Examples The house was yellow I hated that color. It made me think of . ….
Best or favorite gift, or . . . ??? Prompt #310
There are tacky gifts, insulting gifts, selfish gifts the giver secretly wants, cheap gifts and re-gifted gifts. But some gifts are transcendent. Have you ever received such a perfect gift? One that amazed you with its imagination? Perhaps it was a gift that completely touched your heart, changed your life, or opened a new world. Maybe it was a gift so dear you held on to it for a lifetime. What was it and why was it so special to you? Prompt: Your best gift or your all-time favorite gift.
Why I Write. Prompt #309
There’s a lot going on in the world. Upheaval, turmoil, chaos, unity, freedom, marches, democracy. Those are some of the words/concepts I’m thinking as I write this blog post. Today’s prompt is similar to my August 12, 2014 blog post, quoting screenwriter and author, Antwone Fisher, about why he writes. I write for a variety of reasons: For clarification, to share thoughts, for enlightenment, plus all the things I mentioned in the 8/12/14 post. Now, it’s your turn. Why do you write?
Create a vignette. Prompt #308
Many of us have vignettes, little stories of things that happened, that we could write about: Events or situations that enlightened, inspired, or changed us. All are memorable and could be written. But why? Why should you write these stories? “All humans understand and use story on an intuitive level. It’s our most effective teaching tool. It’s how we understand our world, ourselves and each other. It’s how we make and deepen our connections. It’s how we draw meaning from experience.” — Deb Norton, “Story Structure, Simplified,” WritersDigest, February 2017 What if there was a recipe for this type of writing like there is for voodoo doughnuts? “Learning when to throw the flour, proper handling of a rolling pin, the intricacies of an old fashion, the ‘flip,’ and countless other tricks of the trade were now in the hands, minds, and notebooks of Cat Daddy and Tres.” Voodoo Doughnut Recipe…